Article - Coarse
The rise, fall & resurrection of a carp angler
By Mike, added on 05/01/2007
Once upon a time there was just another young kid, who had fishing in his blood. He was always to be a fisherman, but not always a happy one. Up until he was approaching thirty, he was always blissfully happy sitting by the waterside, summer or winter, day or night, scorching hot or freezing cold, in company or alone. By now, his passion were carp.
Kevin Maddocks’s Carp Fever was a revelation. He learned of the hair rigs & shock rigs, to outwit any wily carp. So the next time he went fishing, alongside the rod with the float, fished under the end of the tree, he put out a second rod with the new super shock rig. This rod was left on the bleeper at arms length. The float did not dip or move, nor did any tell tale bubbles fizz the surface. But suddenly, with no warning, the bleeper made one continuous noise as line whizzed off the reel. Five minutes later, a beautifully conditioned 8lb common came to the net. Something felt wrong. This did not seem ok somehow. The guy never used a shock rig again, not to this very day, some fifteen years or so later. The passion for carp though, always remaining strong.
He continued to fish with the float, or to freeline or sometimes a little weight was needed. He started to feel unwelcome at some pools, unworthy, scorned or frowned upon – especially when he caught a carp. He dropped out from all but one club, actually getting a six month ban from one & started to question where was the enjoyment seeping. Things were no longer the same. Maybe he was just getting out of date, out of touch. I think the modern carp fishing scene had overtaken him & he missed the ride somewhere.
Disillusioned with club rules, ongoing tree felling & bankside butchery he started to think – if I had my own pool, it would not be like this. It would be like one of those black & white pictures that used to grace the pages of the early carp pioneering books. Trees, lily pads, reed beds & carp with lips. Redundancy made the dream possibly achievable. He searched near his home, but no pools were for suitable or for sale. He researched buying some poor pasture land for excavation & developing but the journey turned cold.
One day the phone rang. His wife’s sister was going to a foreign property exhibition, did they wish to go along just for an afternoon out. So, one year later, on 23 November 2000, he discovered a hunting reserve up for sale. He was there for only one hour & a deal was struck.
If you want to launch out three rods, then go wandering off with a remote buzzer pick up in your top pocket, there are many French lakes who would love to receive you & also charge you a fortune for doing so. You know the places, where you are all are on first name terms with the fish. If you just want a sanity break, L’etang de La Morinais is where you will find it.